Users of communications services are increasingly accessing media content over data communications networks, like the Internet, through content service provider (e.g., media aggregator websites), web portals, games, and/or other user interfaces. The user interfaces can include media objects and elements that link to media content objects. Some media content and/or communications services providers seek to enhance services and user experiences (e.g., to help users find and access desired content, to monitor and understand user selection processes, etc.) through user interfaces that present added functionality upon detecting that a user has interfaced with a media object. For example, a browser can include a plug-in that displays additional information or options to the user (e.g., in a pop-up window) when it detects that a movie file is being downloaded.
Traditional approaches to providing additional information or options to the user in these types of contexts tend to be limited in a number of ways. Some implementations of such functionality operate through a plug-in or desktop (e.g., system tray) type of application, which involve installation by the user, maintenance and support by the operator, support for multiple platforms, etc. to function properly. Other implementations of such functionality involve redirecting the user to a dedicated website that has enhanced page functionality, which typically takes the user away from the preferred content service provider website and/or otherwise impacts the user experience in undesirable ways. Further, the various traditional implementations tend to respond to user interactions with media objects themselves, rather than with page elements that link to those media objects. For example, the enhanced interface is able to “pop-up” information in relation to a media object that is accessed (e.g., when the download is ready to begin), but not in relation to an element (e.g., an image or text link) that links to the media object prior to accessing the object.